August 29, 2009

Here I am :o)

Sorry I haven't been around much! We got the 4 foster kids and life got REALLY busy! They all have to go to Dr. check ups, dental visits, eye visits, specialists, etc. Plus I had to get them all registered for school, go to counseling apts, visitations, etc. Not to mention the mounds of paperwork, lol! I also have to tend to my garden and have some fun too :o)One of them left after about 5 weeks to go to a previous foster home that was willing to adopt her. She had behavioral issues that were beyond what we would be willing to live with for a lifetime, and we just don't have time for the intense counseling that would've gone with a child like that. Most of her behaviors were because she wanted to go to the other foster home because she has known them for most of her life. I'm glad she's where she wants to be and I'm glad she's not here anymore because it took a toll on my other kids.The other 3 kids are great. They also have an older brother that might be coming to live with us. We're not sure yet though because they might be going to live with their Mom again soon. We'll see...

Other than that I've been working hard to get ready for school to start. J will be in special ed 2 days per week again this year and P will be in K. She will only be going 2 days per week because they do that every other day schedule and I told them she needs to have at least one day per week off that is consistant, so Friday will be her day off. She'll be in a regular class with an aid all day that will be with only her. She'll participate and listen to what she can and then she'll be pulled out to practice walking and therapies, and do adaptive phy ed. I'm very nervous about her going this year. She'll be with all new people and new kids. The last few years she's had the same therapists, assistants, and teachers. I'm very glad that her special ed teacher from before will be her case manager though because she's the one that knows her the best there. We'll see how it goes. I still get PCA hours for Peyton, so if it doesn't go well I'll just bring her back home and have a PCA here to help her while she learns with my other kids.A & W will be starting 2nd and 1st grades here at home this year. They are each a grade ahead in math, so they will be doing their own math at their own pace. They will also read and learn language arts at their own pace. All of the other subjects will be taught together because that's what they prefer. Last year they were each doing different things, and every time I'd be reading science or social studies to one of them, the other one would be more interested in that assignment than what they were supposed to be doing :o)They are going to be doing Math Mammoth for math. Language Arts/Reading is going to consist of then reading lots of books of ours and from the library. I'll also do a lot of reading with them. We have a few websites online that have great spelling and vocabulary games. One of them lets you put your own spelling words in, and then it creates the spelling game/test so they can practice.For History, we are going to learn about a President each week, and the history of their lives, where they live, their families, what happened during their term(s), and what they accomplished while in office.For Geography, we are learning about each of the 50 states, their capitals, landmarks, people, history, state birds/flag/tree, and things like that. They will also have field journals that they will write and draw pictures in after going outside each day. They will tell what they saw and about the weather. They learned a lot about weather last year that they can put into their observations. We will also be reviewing the things we learned last year, like continents, oceans, streets, maps, etc.For Social Studies, we are learning about different cultures in America and around the world. We will learn about their foods, traditions, dress, etc.Science will be learning about how things work together and the natural environment around us. We will be doing lots of research and science experiments.Home Ec is something we do all the time anyways when we cook and bake. They also know a lot about different foods and healthy, natural, eating.For art, we will do painting, paper, and other peojects that we can find or think up to do. We'll review how to mix colors to make other colors, and how the color wheel works.I will be teaching them both piano this year. We tried it a couple of years ago but they were too young to assign letters to their fingers, lol.They are both doing gymnastics at the school this year. A decided that she didn't want to do Dance this year because gymnastics is more fun. I was happy about that because dance is 1/2 hour away and I can't bring the other kids with. Gymnastics is just a few miles down the road, you register monthly so if you want to skip a month you can and I can sign up foster kids without knowing how long they'll be here, there are no costumes and shoes to buy, W can do it at the same time, and I can bring all the other kids to sit in the bleachers to watch :o) Very happy about gymnastics :o)We also do lots of playgroups and field trips with our homeschool group. The kids learn SO much from actually going places and seeing how things are done. Hoping to get to the Science Museum, State Capital, Apple Orchard, Pumpkin Patch, a Farm with Bison, Horses, Beef, and Pigs, the Nature Center, our local History Center for our county, and a bunch more.AND a whole bunch more stuff as we go along :o)Anyways, that's our update :o) I'll try not to disappear for so long next time, lol!

I miss hearing all about your family. We've had a crazy summer, only because between my asthma and migraines it's been NOT fun! I have felt like the world's most boring mom! :-( I am making up for it now though. Joshua is now loving his school!!! It is so nice! Of course it helps that his sister is his aide, she is wonderful and the school pays her! Win/win for everyone.

Joshua is matching his upper and lower case letters now!!!!! Can you believe it? He amazes me all the time!

Hi Jennifer, It's been nice learning more about you via your blog. I am very new to the NWMH group, in fact I've only attended 1 gathering thus far at the Park and had a chance to meet some of your kids. I look forward to meeting you. :) Deanna